diff --git a/salt/roster/ansible.py b/salt/roster/ansible.py
index f4a2a23e0b..e6b9e80247 100644
--- a/salt/roster/ansible.py
+++ b/salt/roster/ansible.py
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ def targets(tgt, tgt_type='glob', **kwargs):
 
 def _get_hosts_from_group(group):
     inventory = __context__['inventory']
-    hosts = [host for host in inventory[group].get('hosts', [])]
+    hosts = [host for host in inventory.setdefault(group, {}).get('hosts', [])]
     for child in inventory[group].get('children', []):
         hosts.extend(_get_hosts_from_group(child))
     return hosts